[C&D Inc. and CATL Signed Strategic Cooperation Memorandum] Xiamen C&D Inc. and CATL signed a strategic cooperation memorandum. The two parties will leverage overseas investment as a bond to conduct in-depth cooperation across the upstream and downstream of the new energy industry.

Recently, CATL announced that Zinfra, an Australian energy infrastructure service provider, has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CATL, establishing a strategic cooperation framework. The two parties will jointly deliver and operate large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects in Australia, accelerating CATL's localized presence in the Australian market Zinfra is a leading energy and utility infrastructure service provider in Australia, specializing in engineering, project management, and operations & maintenance (O&M) in the power and gas sectors. With an annual project and service portfolio exceeding AUD 1.2 billion, Zinfra has extensive experience in the construction and maintenance of power and gas networks, as well as the delivery of renewable energy assets. This partnership marks an important step for CATL in demonstrating its integrated "product + service" capabilities in overseas markets. By leveraging Zinfra's local project channels and engineering delivery capabilities, CATL aims to strengthen the local O&M and service capabilities required for overseas energy storage projects, adopting a light-asset, low-risk model. To date, CATL has ranked first globally in energy storage battery shipments for five consecutive years. According to relevant data, CATL's global market share in energy storage battery shipments reached 30.4% in 2025, with approximately 2,300 cumulative projects worldwide. Looking ahead, CATL will continue to collaborate with local partners such as Zinfra, applying its advanced energy storage battery technology to empower Australia's energy transition and help build a more resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure.

In mid-April, CATL announced plans to invest 30 billion yuan to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Resources Group, registered in Xiamen and positioned as a professional investment, operation, and management platform in the new energy minerals sector. This major move is not only a key step for CATL in building a closed-loop entire industry chain of "ore — materials — battery — recycling," but will also inject strong momentum into the extraction and reuse of rare and precious metal resources, driving the battery recycling industry from standardized development toward a new phase of technological breakthroughs and scale expansion. The core mission of Times Resources Group is to integrate global critical minerals resources such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, while expanding into high-quality rare and precious metal mining projects. From an industry perspective, lithium, nickel, and cobalt are core raw materials for power batteries, while rare and precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum group metals are indispensable in electronic devices and catalysts. Through this 30 billion yuan capital deployment, CATL can both ensure that its primary lithium resources self-supply rate rises above 35% and keep lithium chemicals costs below 50,000 yuan/mt, while also establishing stable raw material connection channels for rare and precious metal regeneration after battery recycling through full industry chain control of mineral resources. More notably, CATL hired Chen Jinghe, founder of Zijin Mining, as a mining consultant, leveraging his extensive experience in mineral exploration and extraction to further optimize resource development processes. This means the upstream extraction segment will place greater emphasis on green and efficient technology applications, such as adopting efficient leaching technology for low-grade ore and comprehensive recovery processes for rare and precious metal associated ore, improving resource utilization rate from the source, laying the raw material foundation for rare and precious metal regeneration in subsequent battery recycling, and achieving synergy between "primary extraction + secondary recycling."

July 30 – Chengxin has locked in ~10 GWh of overseas orders (Europe 40%, Americas 35%, SE Asia 25%), including a GWh project in Germany and a data center project in the US. To address rising lithium costs, it signed a 3-year, 60 GWh sodium-ion battery deal with CATL. After mass production, sodium batteries will offer cost advantages and complement lithium batteries, starting with low-temperature and extreme-environment applications.

July 30 – Hyperstrong (688411.SH) has locked in ~10 GWh of overseas orders (Europe 40%, Americas 35%, SE Asia 25%), including a German GWh project and a US data center project. To counter rising lithium costs, it's advancing sodium-ion batteries via a 3-year, 60 GWh deal with CATL. After mass production, sodium batteries will offer cost advantages and complement lithium batteries, with initial deployment in low-temperature and extreme environments.

In 2025, the global NEV and new-type energy storage markets continued to boom. Chinese lithium battery enterprises, leveraging their technological expertise and scale advantages, continued to dominate the global supply chain.